OSU Museum of Art welcomes new kind of art

Thursday, February 26, 2026

Media Contact: Ashton Miller | OSU Museum of Art Marketing Specialist | 405-744-2783 | ashton.miller11@okstate.edu

The Oklahoma State University Museum of Art has expanded their digital horizons with their newest exhibition, “Three Works, Three Spaces: Loans from the Thoma Foundation.”  

Unlike some of the museum’s most recent exhibitions, this one is made up of three “new media” artworks, each in a different location. Two of the works can be found in different spaces at the museum, while the third is on display on the lower level of OSU’s Student Union.  

Recent visitors to the museum may have noticed a large-scale monitor in the lobby featuring an ever-changing display of color and “brushstrokes.” Titled “Chroma,” the work by artist Daniel Canogar shows a constantly changing digital screen that “paints” itself in real time by using custom software. At any point during the day, visitors will witness a variety of colors flowing across the screen in a manner consistent with the painterly styles of Abstract Expressionism.  

The museum’s mini-vault, which used to house stamps during the building’s time as a post office, now displays Craig Dorety’s “Offset Circles – Yellow Flowering Tree Against a Blue Sky.” The artist took a photograph, converted it into a string of pixels, and those pixels became the basis for the shifting colors of the work, which emanate from the dark confines of the vault. 

The third and final work would fit right in at the museum, but Michael Bell-Smith’s “Up and Away” has found a more fitting home outside the Student Union’s Esports Center, where gamers come to play and compete in organized, competitive, multiplayer video games.  

“Up and Away” consists of looping landscapes and cityscapes “sampled” from classic video game backgrounds. Considering Esports is a popular student organization on campus, this work of video art is sure to resonate with many of the students hanging out around the Esports Arena.  

“The Student Union has always made creating meaningful spaces for students a priority and displaying art supports that mission,” said Tracie Brown, assistant vice president of Student Union Business Affairs. “We’re excited to showcase the Thoma loan in the Student Union as a part of our 75-year anniversary celebration. We have greatly enjoyed partnering with the OSU Museum of Art and the OSU Foundation to bring this special piece to campus and hope to collaborate with them again in the future.” 

“Three Works, Three Spaces: Loans from the Thoma Foundation” was made possible by the generosity of Carl and Marilynn Thoma, and their commitment to highlighting artists who advance the use of digital tools to help explore new ways of creative expression and cultural insight.  

Dr. Kirsten Olds — associate provost for the arts, director of the OSU Museum of Art and Marilynn and Carl Thoma Professor of the Arts — expanded on the importance of these loans. 

“This exhibition of works from the Thoma Foundation — one of the foremost collections in the world of digital and new media art — introduces artistic forms that may be new to some of our visitors,” Olds said. “Presenting these three artworks enables us to create fresh educational opportunities, showcase our reach across campus and downtown and advance our strategic goal of offering an engaging and inspiring visitor experience.” 

Esteemed alumni from OSU, the Thomas have consistently supported OSU arts, with the OSU Museum of Art, The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts and the Thoma Scholars Program, among them.  

“Three Works, Three Spaces: Loans from the Thoma Foundation” will be on view at the OSU Museum of Art and OSU Student Union until January 2027. For more information on the exhibition, the permanent collection or information regarding museum programming, check out the museum’s Instagram and Facebook @osumuseumofart, or sign up for our newsletter on our website at museum.okstate.edu.